Following the announcement from the Prime Minister Ian Sandison CEO of Cambridge BID looks at what this means for City centre businesses.
Well, we now know when kids can go back to school, we can get a haircut, go for a pint and maybe, just maybe dance in a nightclub, let us see. Boris Johnson has cautiously signalled that midsummers’s day, June 21st, could see the end of what will eventually be 15 months of restrictions since lockdown 1 started on March 23rd last year. In 1960 Eddie Cochran sung about ‘three steps to heaven’, let’s hope the 4 steps outlined by the Prime Minister get us close.
The main headlines for the City is that shops will open from April 12th, you can also get a pint in a pub garden on this day and stay in self-catered accommodation, but you have to wait until May 17th to eat in a restaurant, stay in a hotel and visit a museum, from June 21st everything should be open with no social distancing required.
Whilst the roadmap is clear, the one week notice which will confirm each new step, is very tight and this will remain a concern for businesses who need to give suppliers a much greater lead in. We saw last year that changes at short notice are difficult to plan for and this ideally should be avoided this time round.
Many businesses are also now dealing with Brexit, sadly it is starting to bite and is more visible than ever. For importing businesses this is in the shape of a customs form with 20% vat often 15% tariffs, brokerage fees and freight fees. Besides the obvious cashflow issue of paying these new fees upfront, oh whilst they are still closed and trade is close to zero, there is just this maelstrom of documents, processes and procedures, little of which was explained beforehand since the deal was so last minute. By importing businesses I mean almost every business on the high street, since many buy their produce, materials, clothes, jewellery etc from outside the UK.
Now we have heard from the Prime Minister all eyes now turn to next weeks budget on March 3rd. Business groups have been lobbying hard for further support, this week’s unemployment figures of 5.1% make sobering reading and the brunt of this has been borne by the young in hospitality, bars, restaurants, shops and hotels many of which have been closed for months. The Chancellor simply has to extend the furlough scheme, that has cushioned the full impact of the crisis, a further extension to the business rates relief is also required. Cambridge has some of the highest business rates in the country, the extent of this regressive tax was demonstrated in lockdown 1 when business with a rateable value over £51k did not get any grants. In Cambridge we have over 400 of these, a £25k grant for each would have meant an extra £10m to our local economy. These are not large businesses, many of our great independents on Kings Parade, Trinity Street and other parts of the city fall into this category. Thankfully from lockdown 2 these businesses do get grants but it was too late for some.
As a City we have become too dependent on international visitors and we are working hard on promotional campaigns for the UK staycation market and of course we are keen to ensure local residents rediscover their city and support the local economy too. The latest Visit Britain sentiment tracker confirms that the South West and the countryside will be the most popular locations and car will be the preferred mode of transport. Our cultural offer for families needs to be fully open as soon as possible, after June 21st large events can return and we have plenty of plans to animate the city.
Whilst the active travel programme for cycling and walking is to be supported we also need to ensure the city remains accessible to all including car users, not only for visitors but for many of the workers in the city centre who need to drive since even in normal times there is not a sufficient enough public transport option for them.
Oh how we have missed entertaining our friends, a pint in the pub and a decent haircut, but is it time to be positive, we can now see a time when we can get back together, see our colleagues and reflect that our human spirit has endured. For businesses it really has been the worst of times, lets us see if we can start to return to the best, we may even get to have that dance.
